The present disclosure relates to a dimensionally stable durable thermal spray masking system for protecting a portion of a part such as a turbine engine component.
Certain rotors and rotor spacers that receive ceramic thermal spray coatings have very tight spacing of the coating pocket to no-coat areas such as blades and surfaces that mate to adjacent parts. These no-coat areas are typically masked in order to protect them from plasma spray deposition. Conventional tape and polymer based maskants tend to burn off due to the high heat input from the spray process that is associated with achieving a microcracked structure of the coating. Durable metal based masking has been made from Inconel sheet stock and machined from thick sections. Due to the high heat input of the process, these masks may distort and may not maintain the tight tolerances necessary along the edges of the coat to no-coat regions.